The invention relates to employment recruiting; and more particularly, to new computerized systems and methods for identifying and providing the most appropriate employment candidates to an employer for a job posting.
Computer accessible employment posting and search systems have now existed for many years. While most of such systems are internet website based, some proprietary networks still exist within some employment agencies and placement services (such as a school's career counseling or placement office). Examples of several internet based employment systems include MONSTER.COM, CAREERBUILDER.COM and JOBS.COM.
The most basic employment systems simply include a database of job postings from employers seeking employment candidates. The job postings may include, for example, information regarding the employer for the job posting, the type of job, job criteria, job qualifications, and job location, and employer information such as employer name, address, and contact information. The database is then searchable by a job searcher, i.e. persons looking for a job or by an employment agent or placement service trying to place a candidate with a job. Depending on the complexity of the system, the job postings may be searched by keywords, job classifications, job location, salary range, or other search criteria. If the job searcher finds a job of interest, the system may also allow the job searcher to submit a resume, or otherwise apply for the job, with the employer.
On the employee side of the equation, some employment systems include a database of prospective candidates with candidate data for each candidate. The candidate data may include, for example, the candidate's name and personal information such as address, phone number, and contact information, education, employment history, including information regarding previous employers, job qualifications, career goals, desired job criteria, and even a resume. Employers and employment agents working on behalf of employers can search the candidate database for desirable candidates meeting the needs of the employers. Similar to searching the job posting database, the system may allow searching for qualified and desirable candidates by keyword(s) and other defined criteria, such as qualifications, education, salary range, location, willingness to relocate, etc.
The internet based employment systems mentioned above, such as MONSTER.COM and CAREERBUILDER.COM, include both an employer job posting database and a candidate database. Hence, these systems allow a job searcher to search job postings over the internet, and to respond to a desired job posting by electronically submitting a resume and/or application to the employer for the job posting. The systems also allow employers seeking job candidates to search the candidate database and to contact desirable candidates, such as by sending an email advising of the employer's interest, or by using the candidates' contact information listed in the candidates' profiles in the candidate database.
However, current employment systems, such as those mentioned above, frequently result in a large number of responses to job postings, as there is no screening of the candidates prior to a candidates' submission of a resume or application to the employer for the job posting. As a result, an employer may be inundated with numerous resumes and applications from less than qualified, or less than desirable, candidates. The employer must sift through the applications to find the most desirable candidates to follow-up in the hiring process. Similarly, keyword searches of candidate databases by employers often result in a large number of hits, with most of the hits being less than desirable. The systems do not have an effective process for identifying the most reliable and desirable candidates, or for providing these candidates to the employers.
From the perspective of the job searcher, the keyword searches may not identify all of the available job postings for which they may be interested and/or qualified, or the searches may provide too many results including many that are unsuitable or undesirable. Moreover, candidates may not have time to frequently search the job postings in a database because they are working another job or going to school. The job searcher may not have access to the internet or the employment system.
Moreover, in the hiring process, beyond finding a candidate with skills that match the job qualifications, personal references can be an important and critical aspect in improving the chances of finding the right candidate for a job. It is commonly known that the best job candidates tend to be referrals from people known to the employer that can provide a recommendation for the candidate. A referral can provide information regarding a candidate that cannot be conveyed in a resume, application, or other candidate data. In addition, a referral can validate the candidate data available from the recruiting system, making the candidate data, and the candidate, more reliable. Accordingly, employers often first look to their network of friends, family and business associates to find and interview potential employees. A referral from a known person adds to the reliability of a candidate, making the candidate more likely to be hired. This is especially true for small businesses, where the business owner may be making the hiring decision. However, an employer's available referrals are limited and can be quickly exhausted without finding enough candidates. Currently available employment recruiting systems do not provide a feature for improving the reliability of candidates similar to a referral.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved employment recruiting system which overcomes some of the deficiencies of prior systems.